


Oh, Memories, Where'd You Go? (You're All I've Ever Known.)

by mewantcandy



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Mild Hurt/Comfort, set during HOO, slightly AU ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:47:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22146655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mewantcandy/pseuds/mewantcandy
Summary: Annabeth hasn't seen Percy in eight months.Percy hasn't seen Annabeth ever.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	Oh, Memories, Where'd You Go? (You're All I've Ever Known.)

**Author's Note:**

> a rewrite of one of my old, old, _old_ fics! this one is at least three years old, and i rewrote it, and it became a bit longer and a lot better, in my opinion.

There he was. The boy who had gone missing eight months ago. The boy who Annabeth had been searching for, had been waiting for.

Even as the Argo II hovered above New Rome, Annabeth could see him, standing out amidst the crowd of Romans as they made space for him. He was still the same, she thought, and yet he had changed. His dark hair was a mess, as always, and his skin had grown maybe one or two shades darker. His eyes were still as green as the ocean, and yet instead of the usual warmth that they usually regarded her with, they were filled with something else that Annabeth couldn’t quite make out from this altitude.

He was wearing a purple toga. Annabeth knew that that meant he had a high rank, and yet she couldn’t help but wince. If she squinted, she could see a dark mark on his arm. From this high up, it was just a blotch, but she knew what it said, knew what it symbolized.  _ Senatus Populusque Romanus,  _ four letters slashed through with a single dark line. Maybe even a trident.

The thought of the tattoo burned into his skin made Annabeth’s heart sting, as if she was the one who’d been burnt. It was as if the Romans had marked him, saying,  _ he’s ours now, and you can’t take him back. _

The girl standing next to him was a whole other story. Her hair was dark, and her eyes were dark, and she held herself tall and proud. She made Annabeth want to take a quick shower and change into the fancy clothes she hadn’t brought. Annabeth reached up to comb through her hair with her fingers, though, really, it wasn’t doing much. The girl was standing next to Percy, dressed in the same purple toga that he was wearing. Annabeth’s chest tightened.

Still, as Annabeth caught sight of the familiar array of clay beads hanging from Percy’s neck, she relaxed almost infinitesimally. “I’m heading down,” she said. No one stopped her as she climbed down the rope ladder in seconds, jumping to the ground from three meters up and landing safely on her feet.

The Roman legionnaires parted before her, which was good, because Annabeth was a bundle of emotions and would have stabbed anyone in her way. Anger, at Percy for leaving her, at Hera for sending him away, at herself for being unable to do anything. Happiness, at being able to see Percy again, at knowing he was safe. Doubt, at the thought that he might decide that he wouldn’t be coming back to the Greeks, back to her.

She pushed those thoughts aside. There was no time for doubt, not that he was right there in front of her. Oblivious as always, he just stared at her as she approached. “Perseus Jackson,” she said, voice low, “how  _ dare  _ you.”

Her hand shot out to pull his arm and, before he could react, she rolled him over her hips and slammed him onto the ground. There were angry cries from the Romans, who all started to gather closer until Piper yelled at them to  _ back off!  _ with her charmspeak. They all took a few steps back, though the more resilient ones, like the female praetor watching them with hawk eyes, only took a single step back. Annabeth herself had to resist the urge to back away.

Instead, she leaned in close until her face was just centimeters away from Percy’s. His eyes were clouded, filled with something like confusion. She ignored the shout from the girl, and ignored whatever response her own friends shot back. She was staring into Percy’s eyes, trying to see past whatever mist was clouding them.

Before she could say anything, he spoke up first. “Um, hi,” he said. His voice was the same one that used to talk with her and laugh with her on the beach of Camp Half-Blood. “So, um. This might be a weird question, but… do I know you?”

…  _ oh. _

Annabeth stood up slowly. Her eyes were wide, and she blinked rapidly to push back her tears. “Ah… sorry.” She backed away one step at a time, then turned and bolted, scrambling back up the rope ladder and onto the Argo II. Somewhere behind here, people were yelling. She didn’t hear them. She couldn’t hear them.

All she could hear was the sound of her heart breaking.

\---

“Annabeth?”

“Go away.”

It had been several hours. Annabeth’s tears had all but dried up, but that didn’t stop her from burying her face into the pillow. It didn’t matter how hard it was to breathe. It was hard enough to breathe, anyway. This was a welcome distraction.

Piper sighed. Annabeth heard her footsteps lead away, but she knew that Piper would be back. She sighed to herself, turning on her side to face away from the door. She was being ridiculous. She was being ridiculous, she knew. She had a mission to lead, and she wasn’t helping by lying here in her cabin and moping. And yet… what could she do?

There was another knock on the door.

“Annabeth?” It was Piper again. Annabeth didn’t bother responding, and only pulled her pilled closer. It was things like this that were always causing trouble for everyone, she mused to herself. She assumed that everything would be the same as it had always been, but it wasn’t, and now everyone had to deal with her mess.

The lock on the door clicked. Leo’s doing, no doubt. But she didn’t hear any of his telltale bragging, nor did she hear the sound of Piper’s soft but increasingly common sighs. Instead, someone sank into the bed next to her.

She didn’t say a word. She didn’t acknowledge their presence. If she stayed silent, then maybe they would go away. Maybe it was Piper, or Leo, or Jason… It could have been anyone, really, and she didn’t want to talk to anyone of them. Not now.

“I’m sorry.”

Annabeth tensed up. She almost didn’t want to believe it.

Almost.

She slowly turned around, keeping her face buried in the pillow as if looking up would make the person next to her disappear. “... Percy?” Her voice was muffled.

The pillow was gently tugged away, and Annabeth had no choice but to look up into confused, guilty green eyes. “It’s me,” he affirmed. Annabeth’s heart did a flip as he sent her a small smile.

“I’m sorry that I don’t remember you. I… know that you want me to.”

The hope in Annabeth’s heart drained away, and she felt her expression drop even further. “It’s… it’s alright,” she said. It wasn’t alright, really, but she would learn to deal with it. “I guess I was dumb to have hoped that you would remember me. Hera doesn’t like me. Of course she would just get rid of all your memories of me.”

Percy’s eyebrows knitted togehter. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s… well, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

She immediately felt bad for saying that. Percy looked like a puppy that had just been kicked. It made Annabeth want to kick herself. She quickly steered the conversation away. “Um, so that girl a while ago…”

“You mean Reyna?” Percy asked. “Purple bedsheet, scary eyes, looks like she could kill you at any moment?” Despite herself, Annabeth choked out the smallest of laughs. It was enough to make Percy’s eyes light up.

“I made you smile!”   
  


Annabeth shook her head lightly. “Yeah,” she said. Percy really acted like a child sometimes. “You… anyway, she looks familiar. I don’t know where I could have seen her before, though. Ah, but it’s not like you’d know…”

“Yeah… Sorry,” Percy said with a frown. Annabeth moved over to the side, making more space. “Come on, don’t fall off,” she said. Percy moved closer, hand grazing past Annabeth’s--

_ “Do you trust your decision? Or mine?” _

_ Suddenly, Annabeth was in the past. She’d never seen this before, and yet she knew exactly where this was, exactly when this was. Thirteen-year-old Percy stared at himself in the mirror. “Yours,” he mumbled. _

_ Annabeth wanted to shout in protest as Circe ripped a packet open and dumped its contents into a glass of water. She knew that there would be no stopping what happened. This was a memory, after all. _

_ Still, it pained her to watch as Young Percy drank the concoction that was glowing very suspiciously. And then Young Percy shrank, turning into a tiny, furry guinea pig. _

_ The air around her distorted, as if rippling. The scene shifted ever-so-slightly. The cage of guinea pigs was one guinea pig fuller. And then a girl stepped into the room, hair neatly tied, clothes pristine and spotless. It was herself, but younger. _

_ “Ah, Annabeth, dear,” Circe said sweetly. Annabeth wanted to punch her. _

And then she was back in the real world.

Bewildered, and slightly dazed, she sat up. Her forehead knocked against Percy’s, and she immediately came crashing back down onto the bed. “Ow…” she muttered, rubbing her hand against her forehead once before looking up. “You have a really hard head, Seaweed Brain,” she muttered.

The nickname came out of habit, and she covered her mouth with her hands.

“Wait, sorry, I--”

“Did you see that?”

Annabeth blinked. Percy’s voice was quiet, filled with… awe? He was looking at Annabeth as if she were a precious gemstone. “That… the memory?” Annabeth asked. So he’d seen it, too?

He nodded in confirmation.

“Annabeth…” He hesitated for a second. Two seconds. Annabeth tried to push down the hope that was rising up in her heart.

“Wise Girl… I think I remember you.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> they get their happy ending in this. you can fight me if you say otherwise. i hope you guys enjoyed, and if you did, leave a comment and find me on twt!


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